Sphero Announces Misty Robotics, a Spin-out Company Focused on Building Autonomous Robots

New Company Receives $11.5M from Venrock and Foundry Group to Build the Robot for Everyone

Sphero Co-Founder and CTO Ian Bernstein Founds Misty Robotics as Head of Product and is Joined by Industry Veteran Tim Enwall as CEO

Boulder, CO - June 20, 2017 - Sphero, Inc., maker of the acclaimed connected play robot Sphero, announced today that it has successfully completed the spin-off of its advanced robotics division into the newly created Misty Robotics, Inc., which will build personal robots for the home and office. The new company is announcing that it has received $11.5 million in Series A funding from Venrock, Foundry Group and others. Ian Bernstein, former Sphero co-founder and CTO, will be taking the role of Head of Product and is joined by five other autonomous robotics division team members. Misty Robotics will use its new capital to build out the team and accelerate product development and first customer ship.

“Coming on the heels of two very important Sphero product announcements, we are as confident as ever that our company’s focus should be on connected play experiences,” said Paul Berberian, CEO of Sphero. “At the same time, we see tremendous opportunity for the personal robot market, and the creation of Misty Robotics will allow the new company, with Ian’s product leadership and Tim Enwall’s executive experience, to focus on these efforts.”

Misty Robotics’ vision is to put a personal robot in every home and office. These robots will be seen and treated as our friends, our teammates, and a part of our families -- performing helpful tasks, providing safety, and interacting with humans in entertaining and friendly ways that have only been seen before in science fiction. Misty will begin its mission with the release of its first robot and a collaborative ecosystem for robotic development.

Joining Ian Bernstein on the leadership team as the CEO is Tim Enwall, founder and CEO of three previous successful startups: Solista which was sold to Gartner in 2001; Tendril Networks, the leader in “personalized energy experiences to consumers”; Revolv, which was sold to Nest, a unit of Alphabet, in 2014.

“Soon robots will be a constant touchpoint throughout our lives, becoming commonplace and serving a variety of purposes that are very different than what exists today. We have a rough idea as to what this will look like from science fiction and glimpses of brilliance that have happened in this space,” said Ian Bernstein, co-founder and CTO of Sphero and Head of Product at Misty Robotics. “My vision is for Misty Robotics to lead this charge toward delivering the future we were all promised. We’ve already started to build an amazingly passionate team of roboticists and are looking for more talent to help us build the future.”

“This is an incredible team with an impeccable pedigree of building great businesses and shipping awesome products,” said David Pakman, Partner at Venrock. “When we make an investment, we always ask ourselves ‘if it goes right, how big could this be?’ and in this case it doesn’t get any bigger than a robot in every home and office. We believe the core technologies necessary to deliver on this big dream are finally within our grasp.”

Sphero and Misty Robotics will have a close partnership and have signed co-marketing and co-development agreements. Additionally, Paul Berberian, CEO of Sphero, will join Misty’s Board of Directors along with David Pakman, Partner at Venrock, and Brad Feld, Managing Director at Foundry Group.

About Misty Robotics:
Based in Boulder, Colorado, Misty Robotics, Inc. builds personal robots for homes and offices designed to be friends, teammates, and part of the family. Misty Robotics is a spin-out company from Sphero, Inc., makers of the acclaimed connected play robot, Sphero. The company is backed by Venrock, Foundry Group and others.

About Sphero:
Based in Boulder, CO, Sphero fuses physical, digital, and entertainment experiences to unlock the true potential of play and inspire tomorrow’s creators. Sphero was founded by Ian Bernstein and Adam Wilson after completing Boulder Techstars in 2010. We’re now available in 80+ countries around the globe and have sold more than two million robots to date… and counting. We're here to rattle cages, ruffle feathers, and reinvent entertainment... all for the sake of inspiration and creation. It’s time to defy convention and change the way the world thinks about play.
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